All Blog Posts (7,007)

Life as a small town volunteer #2

So I just posted a discussion about the one call that got you hooked on fighting fire. I will go into a little more detail on what call got me hooked.

It was in October of 2005 that the rural department that i was on got paged out for a mutual aid for a grass fire. It was a clear warm day but the wind was steadily up around 20 -25 mph with some gusts of up to 40 mph. It was perfect weather for a grass fire to get out of hand in a hurry. We took two brush trucks and one engine for… Continue

Added by Gordon "Gopher" Runer on December 16, 2008 at 12:30am — No Comments

I have been busy

Sorry I haven't been on in a few days I have been busy around the house and trying to stay busy with the Department (Which has been slow, but is good and bad, good cause noone is having problems , bad cause I don't make any pay) It has been a rough couple of days trying to get everything in order for the holidays. I will try and get on when I have some time.
Until then everyone have a safe and Happy Holiday.
Merry Christmas an God Bless all.

Added by John on December 15, 2008 at 8:02am — 2 Comments

FYI

FYII wanted to let everyone know that I recently added the audio from the Annapolis, MD 5 alarm fire to my videos portion of my page. Take a listen. Here is a prime example of when everything goes wrong. Be safe. Patrick

Added by Patrick Mullen on December 15, 2008 at 6:17am — No Comments

Life as a small town volunteer #1

So I am new to FFN and still "wet behind the ears" relatively in the fire service. I live and go to school in a small town of about 6000. I guess you could say that I had always thought of being a firefighter but I had never pursued the idea until moving here for college. I am what some would call an adrenaline junky ( snow skiing, water skiing, riding ATVs,would like to skydive and bungee jump). I go to a college with a rodeo team and I had always wanted to try to ride a bull. Mom would never… Continue

Added by Gordon "Gopher" Runer on December 15, 2008 at 3:04am — 3 Comments

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter

Well, here it is, the night before my practical. I am writing this Notes from a Rookie Firefighter post after our very successful pancake breakfast at our firehouse this morning. Yesterday I spent the day with my captain practicing my knots on some tools, trying to aim my regulator in just the exact spot with my gloves on and my eyes closed. I was out in the bay for awhile and in came one of our newest rookies, who is going to the Academy in a few months. So he hung out with me for about an… Continue

Added by Denise Imperiale on December 14, 2008 at 8:59pm — 3 Comments

Brother Firefighter/Clown passed away Sunday evening

Our McKinney Texas Brother Firefighter/Clown Richard Smith passed away this evening after suffering injuries from falling while installing Christmas Decorations while off duty. Richard Smith was critically injured while hanging Christmas lights on the roof of his Little Elm home.

Please keep Richard's wife Misty and their 2 children in your prayers during this Christmas season.

Fellow firefighters of Smith's from Station Five say he was a guy who always had a smile on his face… Continue

Added by Jeff Christenson on December 14, 2008 at 8:00pm — 8 Comments

Barbados Fire Service At The Cross Roads

BARBADOS, Dec 13, 2008 - The Barbados Fire Service is at the cross roads in terms of its development, but there are several issues standing in the way of such development.

That was the view put forward by the Chairman of the Barbados Fire Service Association (BFSA), Clarence Hinds. Giving the opening remarks at the start of the annual general meeting of the association, Hinds lamented the fact that there have been no promotions within the Service since 2004 and that no appointments… Continue

Added by Glyne Alleyne on December 14, 2008 at 7:54pm — 1 Comment

The end of a LONG difficult year

Last night my Fire Department held our annual Holiday dinner. It is the one time of the year when we get together away from the station. In the past few years we have had all kinds of issues with people being people and things not working out the way they should and some people going away with hurt feelings, angry or just didn't show up for the event at all.

As with many volunteer fire departments from time to time, we have had "cliques" or groups of members not always working with… Continue

Added by Jenny Holderby on December 14, 2008 at 7:49pm — 2 Comments

Black Ice, The Great Equalizer: Take Two

In light of the current weather conditions here in Melbany, I thought it would be prudent to re-post this piece. I wrote it right around this time of year last year (the big tipoff was the reference to reindeer jammie pants, like my candy cane antlers, I only wear those in December).

We're having one hell of an ice storm in Albany right now, and according to the weather report on the news, it's not just us. Snow, sleet and ice are piling up from Poughkeepsie to the Adirondacks. With… Continue

Added by Mary Ellen Shea on December 14, 2008 at 6:40pm — 17 Comments

The Continuing Chronicles of the FNG (irl): Fire and Ice …Hot Dogs and Chainsaws

My title kind of sounds like a country song, doesn’t it? All that’s missing is the broken-hearted horse, a ten gallon hat, and the kitchen sink.

We had a pretty damaging and intense ice storm in Albany that started up on Thursday, Dec. 11 at mid-day and finally finished at around noon on the following day. And it didn’t affect just my area either; there was storm damage, cataclysmic power loss and ice and snow buildup all the way from Poughkeepsie to New Hampshire.…

Continue

Added by Mary Ellen Shea on December 14, 2008 at 6:39pm — 12 Comments

Don't Light a Joint INFRONT of a Cop!

"A woman in Muncie, Indiana was arrested after she lit up a joint in front of a state trooper. Police say the woman was a passenger in a car that was pulled over for a traffic violation. While the trooper was talking to the driver, Honesty Knight –yes, that’s her real name–asked if it was OK if she smoked. The trooper assumed she meant a cigarette, so he said yes. Honesty lit a “cigarette” that turned out to be marijuana instead of tobacco. She was arrested…..sounds like she was already pretty… Continue

Added by Bruce C Ziebarth on December 14, 2008 at 5:00pm — No Comments

christmas and birthdays.

This is the worst time of the year for me . I was born on Dec. 20 th a fews yrs ago . and since my 14th birthday I have always hated it . Chrismas is just as bad because I feel its not fair to get 2 sets of gifts that week, I remeber when my grandparents would come over and my dad was always at work ,when we had cake and home made icecream for me . But my dads parents never came over because of the weather .My dad whome I love dearly was always working plowing snow for the town,so we could have… Continue

Added by morris washburn on December 14, 2008 at 11:00am — No Comments

"I know you miss grilling when the weather gets cold, but don’t try what today’s dumbass did. There’s reasons why you can’t grill indoors on an outdoor grill. Police arrested a 44-year-old man who li…

"I know you miss grilling when the weather gets cold, but don’t try what today’s dumbass did. There’s reasons why you can’t grill indoors on an outdoor grill. Police arrested a 44-year-old man who lit a charcoal grill inside his apartment, and endangered his neighbors. He was charged with reckless endangerment after two people became sick. The grill created dangerous carbon monoxide levels in the apartment building." KCMQ.com.

Stay… Continue

Added by Bruce C Ziebarth on December 14, 2008 at 8:00am — 1 Comment

tonawanda's wiki page and my dept web page

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonawanda_(city),_New_York

http://www.ci.tonawanda.ny.us/fire/firehome.htm

here are a couple fo links about tonawanda for those who are interested in where i live

Added by steve price on December 14, 2008 at 12:02am — No Comments

You talk too much!!!!! Radio Traffic!!!

So im sittin around the firehouse today not doin much and I hear one of neighbor departments catch a chimney fire. I got kinda excited hopin that we might go to this one seein as we havnt had a big fire for almost two months now. We didnt end up goin but anyway, let me get to the point. As soon as the tone dropped everyone got to listen to every single officer from that department get on the radio and put themselves in route to the station. When I say every officer, I mean every officer!!! I… Continue

Added by Dustin J. Millis on December 13, 2008 at 7:06pm — 8 Comments

Christmas poem for the troops.....

> > A Different Christmas Poem

> >

> >

> > The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,

> > I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.

> > My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,

> > My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.

> > Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,

> > Transforming the yard to a winter delight.

> >

> > The sparkling lights in the tree I… Continue

Added by anne potter on December 13, 2008 at 6:20pm — No Comments

GPS FORCES Man to Drive Car Down Stairs?

Ok, the GPS did not make him do it but that was his excuse. Taken from KCMQ.com.

"Navigation systems are wonderful inventions and can be a big help at times…but people have got to stop following their directions when it’s obvious they are being sent the wrong way - you know, think for themselves sometimes. For example, an Italian man says his GPS guided him to make a right turn that led his car down two flights of stairs. He ended up having his… Continue

Added by Bruce C Ziebarth on December 13, 2008 at 5:00pm — 1 Comment

Scam: Lady Tells Churches Child Has Cancer

Taken from KCMQ.com.

"Today’s dumbass award goes to the Florida woman who swindled churches with a bogus sick kid story. She told church members her child had cancer and that she needed money for a kidney transplant and then pocketed the cash. Marion County authorities say the woman visited multiple churches in central Florida and told them her daughter was sick and received over $1,000, even though in reality her daughter was fine. She was charged with one count of scheming to… Continue

Added by Bruce C Ziebarth on December 13, 2008 at 8:00am — No Comments

Giving Credit Due To My Bro's.

Well another season of harsh politicing for the best and worst postitions a person could want have come to a close.

Yes, I'm talking about running for anything from a chief's position down to the appointment of captians and other officers.

So this year had a bit more of a twist since I was running for chief of my department.And I was running againt an older somewhat more seasoned firefighter who has alot of leadership skills and a list of credentials a mile long. What was my edge?… Continue

Added by Jim Brunelle Jr. on December 13, 2008 at 12:00am — 5 Comments

Tractor-trailer rolls after hitting bridge

By Dave Hill

The Tonawanda News

A 45-year-old Erie, Pa., man rolled his tractor trailer Thursday morning after striking the CSX railroad overpass on Young Street in the City of Tonawanda.

The accident, which was captured on the surveillance video of a nearby business, happened at about 8:30 a.m. and closed a portion of Young Street for much of the day while police and fire crews handled the scene.

“This happens every now and then, but in this case, it looks… Continue

Added by steve price on December 12, 2008 at 11:38pm — No Comments